Call Your Name
by Bellatrix Kale
Summary: AU. Jimmy Novak, ex-vessel to Castiel, lost everything: his wife, daughter, his old life... The Winchesters have taken him under their wing and are teaching him the ways of hunting. Of course there's a few bumps in the road. -Prequel to Crossfire. !Slash.
1. Cracks

**Title**: Cracks  
**Prompt**: 115 - change  
**Character/Pairing**: Jimmy Novak, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester.  
**Word Count**: 403  
**Rating**: T  
**Warnings**: Alcohol reference

The only reason they were at the bar that night was to make some fast cash. Sam and Dean were doing the usual pool hustling routine. Sam drinking and pretending to be a bad player while Dean attempts to convince him not to bet two hundred bucks or more.

Except there was something different that night.

They had an ex-vessel in tow. Jimmy Novak, the poor guy that lost his family and showed a general hate towards angels the past week since being with them. Dean was worried about demons getting him so they took him in. Like adopting a lost puppy.

Dean glanced around the crowded room and his eyes stopped at the bar. He saw the back of Jimmy's head and a glass of beer in front of him. He didn't seem the type to drink and frowned, telling Sam not to bet anymore or drink anymore before going over to join the man. "Hey Jim," he said while sitting on the seat next to him.

Jimmy nodded, a somber look on his face as he picked up the glass and drank down most of the liquid. Dean looked him over, assessing. Jimmy was dressed similar to them now with layers of dull colored clothing and his shoulders were slouched forward towards the bar top. If he didn't know any better, Dean might think he was depressed.

But he had every reason to be. They hadn't heard from Castiel since that day and ever since, it was like something changed in the man.

Before Dean knew it, minutes passed and Jimmy had drained his glass. He called over the bartender for another, who said, "Mister, I'm cutting you off after this one."

Furrowing his brow with minor concern, Dean asked, "Jimmy, how many have you had?"

"Five…ish." He was so calm about it, shrugging and picking up the newly filled glass.

Once he put it down, Dean glanced over at Sam, who looked to be getting bored since he won another game. "C'mon man. Sam's ready to go." Jimmy got up, stumbling a little as Dean grabbed his arm to steady him and escort him out with the help of his brother.

That was the night he saw the change – one giant crack that ruined everything. A familiar one that he'd felt when he lost Sam and his dad and so many others. Dean only hoped that Jimmy could stay together…


	2. Trying to Forget

**Title**: Trying to Forget  
**Prompt**: 296 - drunk  
**Character/Pairing**: Jimmy Novak/Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester.  
**Word Count**: 650  
**Rating**: T  
**Warnings**: Minor boykisses.

The three managed to maneuver into the room of the hotel after getting up a set of stairs. It was a miracle no one tripped really. Jimmy was between the two brothers, Sam on his left and Dean on his right. Both had an arm around their neck to help him. Dean hadn't seen a lightweight drink so much before, other than Sam really and even he could get back to the room without a problem.

Once in, Sam let go of Jimmy's arm. "Can you take it from here?"

"Yeah," Dean grumbled out. Since having him with, they had to start getting two rooms. Sam shared a room with him in the last town and it was Dean's turn this time. Of course, he got him when he was trashed. Lucky him.

Sam raised his eyebrows at Jimmy before ducking out and pulling the door shut behind him. "Alright chief, let's get you to bed." Dean turned and helped Jimmy to the bed.

"But I'm not tired," Jimmy said. His words were slurred as all the alcohol in his system began taking a toll. "Jus' wanna stay awake. Hey, let's watch something." His eyes went wide in a gesture that was almost cheerful.

Shaking his head, Dean told him, "Uh uh." He dropped Jimmy's arm and pushed him to sit down on the edge of his bed. "You need to sleep off all that booze you downed." He couldn't help but laugh slightly. "I still can't believe you drank that much."

The sigh that Jimmy gave had to be one of the biggest Dean had ever heard. "It helped."

"Helped what?" He was curious; he'd bite. Dean sat down on his own bed across from the ex-vessel, scratching the back of his neck before pulling off his leather jacket.

"Forget. …Damn it." Grumbling, Jimmy scowled. Apparently, he didn't forget.

Dean knew what he was referring to and leaned forward a little, patting him on the shoulder to reassure him. "Things get better. Don't worry." He wasn't really one for pep talks, but damn – Jimmy really needed one.

Jimmy raised his eyes to look at the older Winchester, a frown obvious across his face. He got to his feet shakily and Dean dropped his hand, looking at him curiously. He went to tell him to sit back down but he didn't get a chance to. Jimmy leaned down and pulled him into a crushing hug, almost halfway to practically sitting in Dean's lap.

"Uh…?" He could feel Jimmy huffing warm air onto his neck since he buried in face there. The man was comfortable it seemed and Dean didn't think throwing him off was a good idea. So instead, he patted him on the back awkwardly. "S'alright dude."

The face at his neck moved as Jimmy nodded his head and lifted up, looking at him with a glazed over look. Nothing about the look made Dean comfortable and he tried a scowl. It stayed fixed until Jimmy leaned in again. This time, his lips went to the corner of Dean's. Making contact with half of his cheek in the process, too.

That was where he drew the line.

"Jimmy, stop. You're drunk. Lay your ass down and go to sleep." He pried his arm's away and backed Jimmy up until he bumped against the bed and finally lay down. For a moment, he kept staring at Dean. Almost as if he was concerned.

Rolling his eyes, Dean shook his head and walked into the bathroom of their room. He left the door open to keep an eye on Jimmy, but looked in the mirror to look at his reflection. He might be low sometimes, but there was no way he was taking advantage of someone that drunk. Especially, a guy. He shook his head again, clearing his thoughts before going back out into the room to get some sleep himself.


	3. Weird

**Title**: Weird  
**Prompt**: 003 - first  
**Character/Pairing**: Jimmy Novak/Dean Winchester, mentions of Sam Winchester.  
**Word Count**: 600  
**Rating**: T  
**Warnings**: Minor boykisses.

Three days since the kiss. Three. Jimmy felt horribly guilty about it and as soon as Sam mentioned that he found a case, he offered to do the research with him and dive nose first into his first hunt. It was going to be a distraction – one that wasn't alcohol, and that's exactly what he wanted. Something to get his mind off his deceased family and his stupid actions.

It was almost a day to work through old files and records, but Sam eventually figured out there was just a ticked off spirit in haunting a house that needed to be taken care of. He explained things to Jimmy all the way up until they were digging up the grave that same night.

Sam just forgot to mention the spirit might know what they were doing and end up popping up at the site to attempt to stop them.

Needless to say, Sam ended up with a bruise on his head from whacking it on a gravestone and Jimmy with a gash across his left side that was half a foot long. Thankfully, it wasn't that deep. But Dean still insisted they stitch it up.

Which was how he ended up sitting with his shirt off on Dean's bed in the room they were sharing. It wasn't the most comfortable of situations either. Jimmy knew he wasn't the only one dwelling on what had happened and he figured Dean was just put out over it. But he didn't want to touch on it or mention it even.

So they sat in silence, minus the few winces and mumbles of 'ouch' from Jimmy. Sam had retreated to his room for painkillers, ice, and sleep. Everything just felt…weird to Jimmy with Dean. He never intended it to be that way and he didn't want it to be really. If he was going to be living with the man, he wanted things to be flat and normal.

Clearing his throat and grimacing at the pain of the thread, Jimmy said, "I'm sorry for the other night."

"What?" Dean sounded shocked and Jimmy's eyes flicked to him.

"What do you mean 'what'? For getting drunk and the hug and kiss, if you wanna call it that. It was barely one, but still dumb of me. I should've been thinking instead of-"

His ramble was stopped when Dean gave him a quick kiss square on the lips, not even missing because he was sober. One hundred and ten percent sober. Jimmy was shocked for a moment, just looking at him with blatant confusion. Dean shrugged his shoulders and went back to finishing up the stitching. "Now I kissed you back and it won't be weird, alright? Now stop bitchin'. And your side's as good as new."

Jimmy opened his mouth to say something and immediately shut it again, making a frown. "Thanks," he mumbled, getting up and moving to the dresser to grab one of his shirts from the drawer, quickly pulling it on after suddenly feeling self conscious.

Dean nodded in recognition as he got up and grabbed his jacket. "You need anything while I'm out?"

He was still in awe. How could Dean be so damn calm about that? Jimmy's brain was nearly short circuited by the action and now Dean was casual? That was impossible.

But as usual, he didn't mention anything. The ex-vessel shook his head and Dean raised an eyebrow at him before leaving the room. Once the door was shut, Jimmy huffed out a breath and rubbed a hand over his face. "Way to make things weirder, Dean..."


	4. How to Decode Your Actions

**Title**: How to Decode Your Actions  
**Prompt**: 262 - silence  
**Character/Pairing**: Dean Winchester, mentions of Sam and Jimmy.  
**Word Count**: 409  
**Rating**: T  
**Warnings**: Mentions of boykisses.

What the hell had he done? Dean couldn't even think, let alone decide if what just happened in the room was freaking kosher or not. At first he was going to go over and talk with Sam, but that would turn into having to hear a long ass speech via his little brother.

So he did what he would do any other time – get in his car and drive. Just go until he found some back road or clearing where he could park and sit on the hood of the Impala to think. Somewhere silent. And after driving for an hour, he found a place. It overlooked the small town and seemed like the perfect spot, almost as if someone had led him there.

Dean put the car in park and got out of the car, making his way over to the hood of the Impala and sitting down carefully. He glanced up at the sky and stars, just trying to put a finger on his actions. Silently trying to decode them in his mind and it wasn't easy.

The only thing he could think of was that Jimmy probably hated him for it. He'd lost his family and everything, and then Dean had to go and do _that_. He was pretty sure Jimmy didn't even swing that way. Not even an inch. Dean went through his experimental phase when he was young, so why the hell the sudden spur of the moment action? He wanted to make Jimmy feel better, sure but that wasn't the right action.

He put a hand on his forehead, running a hand down the side of his face in exasperation. It wasn't like he had a time machine or something to go back and prevent it. It happened. Now he had to deal with it. Apologizing profusely seemed to be his best bet currently.

Then again, what if Jimmy had liked it? No, he couldn't think that. Dean had to keep his head straight and on course. He'd go back and apologize. Just not now. In a little while.

Or until his cell phone starting ringing. Like it was now. Dean pulled it out, saw it was Sam on his ID, and rolled his eyes before pushing off from the hood of the Impala and going back to the driver's seat. "I'll deal with it sooner than later then," he assured himself while he started it up and started back to the motel.


	5. Cut Short

**Title**: Cut Short  
**Prompt**: 184 - exhausted  
**Character/Pairing**: Jimmy Novak/Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester.  
**Word Count**: 651  
**Rating**: G  
**Warnings**: Fluff.

Dean got back to the motel and went right to Sam's room. His talk with Jimmy would just have to wait. He opened the door and found both his brother and the ex-vessel at a desk. Jimmy was face first in a book, literally; while Sam had his head propped on his fist. He held up a hand curiously and Sam got up from his chair, keeping his voice down as he said, "I found something."

"Found what?" Dean hissed. He was tired and agitated and somewhat feeling out of it. What could be so important?

"There's signs. A demon's in a nearby town. Actually, there might be two…"

He was glad Sam had found their next case, really; but it was just too much. Dean rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, briefly glancing over to Jimmy. "Look, we'll go tomorrow. We just got done with a case and you're already jumping into another. What's with you?"

Sam shook his head, rolling his eyes at Dean. "We have to teach him right? First hand is the only way. Besides, it solves problems in the mean time."

"Jimmy's not used to this, man. We can't have him running ragged like we do. Not yet anyways. He's still pretty damn depressed." Concern was sneaking past Dean's sturdy brick wall of emotions. He didn't like that too much. And after all, Sam wasn't the one who had to watch the guy drink himself into a stupor or deal with awkward conversations.

His younger brother looked back at Jimmy before giving a defeated sigh. "Alright, fine. He can sleep in here for the night."

Nodding, Dean pulled out his key for his room and held it out to Sam. "Go grab his bag. I'll get him settled better." Sam shot him a curious look and Dean just said, "I gotta talk to him quick." The look on his face turned slightly pleading before Sam finally left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

With Sam gone, Dean let out a breath and made his way to Jimmy's side. Carefully, he took hold of Jimmy's arm and immediately felt him stir. He lifted his head to look at him with slits for eyes. "Dea?" he grumbled out.

"Yeah. It's me. Why don't we get you to the couch where you'll sleep better?" Jimmy's response was a limp nod and he got up from the chair with Dean's help. They practically swayed over to the couch where Dean dropped him lightly. "Sleeping on books is no good, trust me," the hunter joked.

Something crossed between a laugh and sound approval slipped from Jimmy before he started curling up to go back to sleep. That talk would half to be cut down and right to the point. Dean figured this was a good time to just be out with it. Maybe he wouldn't even remember in the morning. "Jim, look, I know you miss them and I wanna help however I can. If you need something, ask. You can lean on me." He chuckled and went on to say, "Someone's gotta take care of you."

A minute or two went by where the room was silent and Dean just stayed knelt down beside the couch, watching him breathe steadily. The silence was finally broken when Jimmy muttered something low along the lines of "I'm grateful" and "thank you" came out with a content smile. Dean just…didn't know what to say back to that. He was going to lean down and kiss the ex-vessel's forehead just as he heard the door click open, signaling Sam was back.

Dean got to his feet and turned around. Sam had Jimmy's back in one hand and a can of soda in the other with a worried look on his face. The older Winchester just pointed over his shoulder towards Jimmy before brushing by Sam and leaving the room.


	6. Thoughts So Strong

**Title**: Thoughts So Strong  
**Prompt**: 174 - lost  
**Character/Pairing**: Jimmy Novak, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester.  
**Word Count**: 694  
**Rating**: G  
**Warnings**: Minor angst.

The trio got into town after a few hours of sleep and immediately went to work. On the way, Sam had found that the demon was a duo going after barflies and then mutilating them. What the motive behind it they weren't sure, but they knew what had to be done.

Jimmy offered to be bait outright. It caused Dean and Sam to exchange worried looks for a moment until Dean told him no and told Sam to drop him off at the bar. Even Sam didn't like that idea, but heaved a sigh and took over the driver's seat of the Impala once Dean parked in front of the bar. Jimmy was full of worry as he watched Dean say a few words to Sam before going into the bar.

After a few moments of silence between the two, Jimmy asked something that was troubling his mind. "So are we just supposed to sit here and watch the door?"

Sam looked back at him with an arm resting on the bench. "Pretty much. You can move up here if you want."

Maybe it was because he was still kind of new to hunting, but just sitting and watching seemed like a bad idea. They should be in there keeping an eye on Dean. He furrowed his brow and got out of the car to move to sitting in the passenger seat, a scowl planted on his face by the time he pulled the door shut. "How long you think it'll take?"

"Not long. Dean can pull it off," he chuckled. Sam glanced at the door to the bar for a moment quietly and then went on to ask, "So…are you doing alright?"

"Fine. Why?"

"You were talking in your sleep last night. Saying stuff about…you know."

He shook his head and shrugged. "They're just bad dreams. I'll live."

Sam gave a careful nod, a worried expression as he tapped his palms on the steering wheel.

Four hours they spent sitting in the Impala and the whole time there was an uncomfortable silence as they watched patrons go in and out of the bar, but never Dean. Somewhere around the four hour mark Sam looked at his watch with a furious expression. "It shouldn't have taken this long."

"Think we should…?" Jimmy didn't even get to finish asking his question because Sam was getting out of the car. He took it as his answer and got out, following after him quickly. They got inside and Sam immediately went over to the bar. Jimmy took a glance around. No Dean. He frowned at this and joined Sam, who was questioning the bartender.

"Sir, can you just tell me where he went?"

The older man behind the bar was wiping a glass dry and nodded his head to a door opposite where they entered. "Left out the back door, even though I said that was for emergencies."

"Damn it," Sam muttered. "Thanks."

They hurried out said door, Jimmy in Sam's footsteps with a worried knot in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't help but wonder if this happened often. All he knew was he wanted Dean to be okay. The guy had been more than nice to him lately. Plus, he promised the previous night he'd be around for Jimmy. In his mind, this was breaking that.

Out the backdoor led to an alley that was pitch black and silent. Sam gave an exasperated sigh and pushed his hair back with both hands. Jimmy was half tempted to punch the brick wall of the bar, but knew that wouldn't do them much good. Instead, he grit his teeth angrily. "We have to find him," he said, more emotion sneaking into his tone than he intended.

"I have an idea," Sam said pulling out his phone.

"You do your idea. I'm gonna have a look." Jimmy turned to walk in the opposite direction of where the Impala was parked and was stopped by Sam. "What?" he nearly snarled.

"Be careful," Sam warned. "These are demons. You know what they think of you."

Jimmy pulled his arm from Sam's grip and hurried off to find Dean.


	7. Facade

**Title**: Facade  
**Prompt**: 275 - dark  
**Character/Pairing**: Jimmy Novak/Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester.  
**Word Count**: 1670  
**Rating**: T+  
**Warnings**: Minor graphic content, slash.

As Jimmy made his way out of the alley and onto the sidewalk, he took a look around. Having been around the brothers for the past week and a half was rubbing off and he knew he had to be thorough in his search, and on his guard.

There was nothing but an empty road to his left. On the right, there was a small house not even a mile away. Maybe that's where they were. With a determined look, Jimmy broke into a jog towards the house. Only one light was lit, but he could at least hope to ask if whoever lived there was or heard anything.

Halfway there, he heard a faint tune of music that was muffled…or something like that. Jimmy couldn't tell and stopped mid-step to listen. It was familiar almost, but he couldn't place it. By the time he figured out what it was he was surrounded by darkness and blacked out.

* * *

Why'd his head hurt so bad? Dean blinked his eyes open to a squint and going with his first instinct to get up from…whatever he was sitting on. As soon as the throbbing in his head faded slightly, he opened his eyes more and looked down to see he was sitting in a chair. The attempt to move his arms that were behind the back of the chair failed. Dean could only huff at the cold metal he felt on his wrists.

"Is anyone there?" He was suddenly becoming more conscious of how bleak and dim the room was, along with his situation as a whole. Dean didn't like it at all. Where was Sam or Jimmy when he needed them…? "Hello!" he called.

Faintly, he could hear someone say something. Dean perked up slightly, craning his neck to look behind him. "Hey! In here!"

Footsteps hurried through the archway and he saw they were attached to Jimmy, but…Sam wasn't with him. His first thought was to flip because he was on his own when there were demons around. Dean figured that'd be better saved until they were out of the building. "Can you…?" He jostled his wrists, clinking the handcuffs.

"Oh, right," Jimmy nodded, circling behind him again. Dean could feel him attempting to open them, at least free him somehow; but they didn't budge. "I don't have a key. What should I do?" He got back up and Dean watched as he came back in front of him.

"Look around. See if you can find one." Dean saw Jimmy give a nod before he shut his eyes and took in a breath. Okay, this could get ten times worse. It already was he figured, seeing as Jimmy didn't look to be armed.

After a few moments, Dean opened his eyes again and Jimmy said, "Dean, there's no key." He shot a pointed look as he paced in front of him. "Or did you suddenly become blind?"

Dean narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the ex-vessel, remembering when Castiel would be so blunt with him. "Don't need to be a dick about it. Maybe there's something else we can use? Find me a paperclip."

Jimmy rolled his eyes with a huff. "Okay, I'm done with the act. I'm not letting you go. Get over it." His eyes got a deadly glare and Dean could see them flicker to black.

"You get out of him you son of a bitch!" Dean growled. He mentally cursed himself for not having Jimmy take the preemptive measures against possession. God, how could he be so stupid? Sam never even mentioned it… "Now!"

"Aw, cute. You care about him as much as he does for you?" The demon possessing Jimmy made the wickedest of smirks go onto the usually kind face. "Because he really, _really_ cares." The demon took a step towards Dean, who leaned into the back of the chair slightly.

Still beyond pissed, Dean managed to grumble out, "Just get out of him. Go jump into some helpless bastard and leave him." Begging was the last thing he wanted to be doing while tied up and facing a demon, but this was _Jimmy_. He had to do something. There was no way he was letting him get hurt. He'd promised the guy he'd look out of his ass.

The demon looked up at the ceiling, blue eyes of Jimmy's now looking devious. "How about no?" He patted his chest with a proud grin. "I'm delivering him to down below. He'll become very valuable to us once he figure him out." The grin turned to a displaced smirk. He took a few more steps forward, only to get in Dean's face. "Any last words for him?"

He turned his head to the side for a moment before facing the demon wearing his friend. "As a matter of fact, I do. Christo," Dean smirked, watching as the demon's eyes went black and he let out a snarl.

Jimmy's face got closer to Dean's to the point where he could feel the angry breathing pattern. "Do that again and I stab him right here and ditch out."

That certainly wasn't an option in Dean's book. And he couldn't really move yet. Jeeze, where the hell was Sam! He had to figure out a plan. Surely, Sam would've seen Jimmy go missing. He was supposed to be watching him, after all.

By the time Dean figured he should keep stalling, the possessed Jimmy was making himself comfortable straddling Dean's lap. "The hell?" The words just flew out of Dean's mouth and he jerked, trying to toss them off.

"Don't be such a prude," the demon told him, latching both hands to the back of the chair and tilting his head at the hunter. "I think you're forgetting that I'm the one in his head. Maybe you need a refresher in hunting school."

Another grin broke out on Jimmy's face and Dean couldn't help but glare. Jimmy didn't talk like this or act like this. Ever. This damn demon… He gave a low grumble in response, which earned him a head tilt in the opposite direction. "Whether you're tapping into his mind or not, you're not him. God, I hope he kicks your ass in there." Dean shook his head for a moment with a pleased look. Jimmy was strong; he could do it.

Smirking, the demon furrowed his brow. "He's trying. And obviously failing miserably seeing as how I'm fully in control. I can prove it."

A smirk flashed at him before the demon moved Jimmy's hips against his. It took every little fiber of Dean's being to not relish in the feeling – one that he wouldn't admit, but was thinking about for the past two days. "Stop it."

Somehow the puppy eyed look that Jimmy could pull off looked almost sickening when a demon was in control and doing it. Dean hardened his look as the demon said, "You'd deny him?"

"It's not him, so yeah. You're damn right I would."

The demon clicked his tongue thoughtfully, giving his head a shake. "Shame. 'Cause he wants it."

"You're lying," Dean glared in annoyance.

"Again, I repeat: let me prove it. Before I take him and you never have the chance."

There were no second thoughts about this subject. It was a demon and not Jimmy talk, so that was final. "How about you get the hell off me right now before I start throwing around the words, hm?" If this was supposed to be some form of torture, by damned it was a horrible approach and Dean wasn't buying into any of it.

He didn't give up though. The demon persisted on grinding Jimmy's hips into Dean's to get a reaction a few times. Dean almost groaned a few times, but clamped down on his lip to stop himself. How long had it been now? Stalling time was being knocked from long to short and he wasn't sure how much more he could deal with. Hell, Dena almost hoped the demon would whip out a knife to stab him in the arm or something.

"Is this really not doing anything for you, Dean?" Jimmy's voice dropped, down to how it sounded when Castiel used to speak, which made him want to kill this demon inside Jimmy even more.

"I don't swing in the demon direction."

"But I do," a voice from somewhere behind the demon said before a knife whipped to the side and sliced the side of Jimmy's arm, creating a deep gash.

Dean could feel Jimmy's body shake and there was a scream before the black smoke started pouring out of his mouth. In seconds, it was all gone and Jimmy collapsed back. Thankfully, Sam was right there and caught him. The look on his younger brother's face was pure detest to the situation and Dean could only give a small shrug. "Get him off and get these cuffs off so we can ditch town."

Sam nodded and did as asked. "Finding you two wasn't easy you know," he commented while picking the handcuffs open.

"Not my fault for once." Dean pulled his wrists and got up as soon as he was free. His eyes went right to Jimmy, who was lying on the floor with the cut across his arm. "Let's just go. We can talk about this later." A nod was Sam's silent agreement as the two picked up Jimmy by the arms and helped him outside where the Impala was actually parked. Dean was more than happy to see her as they put Jimmy in the backseat.

He didn't have a clue as to how he would explain what was going on to his younger brother, but Dean had the slight feeling he didn't really need to. Sam would most likely, just jump to the conclusion that it was the entire fault of the demon. There was no way he would pick up on the fact that they'd kissed before twice or anything. No way. It was all hushed and after how this went, that's how it was going to stay.


	8. Awakening

**Title**: Awakening  
**Prompt**: 107 - awake  
**Character/Pairing**: Jimmy Novak, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester.  
**Word Count**: 654  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warnings**: None.

Dean drove for a while and let silence fill up the void of the Impala. Jimmy was still quietly out cold in the back seat and Sam seemed calm next to him in the passenger seat. He had a feeling though that once they stopped there'd be some kind of freak out.

By the time they got back to the motel, Dean just wanted to grab their stuff and go. He was at the point where he was wiped and ready to hand the keys over to Sam. Before they could go anywhere though, Sam had out their small bag with medical bandages to fix up Jimmy's arm. He sat on the edge of the seat and patched his arm up. Jimmy was catatonic and it worried them, so they drew a warding symbol on his hand in sharpie.

After this was all done, Sam returned to the room and gave Dean a look. He knew the look and exactly what it meant: "we need to talk and I gotta know what the hell's going on". The crossed arms just boosted that all though and Dean huffed. "Dean," Sam started to say.

Dean cut him off, throwing his jacket down on top of his backpack with an eye roll. "Are you gonna be a girl about this?"

"No, I just wanna know what happened. I mean, I came in at a pretty…weird time." Sam looked a little grossed out for a moment.

"The demon possessing him said that he was into me and tried using it against me or something," Dean shrugged, as if it were nothing. But it wasn't nothing to him. It was pretty big in his book.

Sam's eyebrows went up, almost as if he was amused by the words. "Or something? Right…"

Huffing, Dean said, "We're not talking about this." He glared for a moment before going back to packing up his duffel bag. He glanced over at the door every few minutes, hoping Jimmy might walk in and back to his normal self. It was clear Dean was worried. After maybe fifteen minutes, he couldn't take it anymore. He swung his bag over his shoulder and stomped out of the room, dropping the bag in the trunk before opening the side door in the Impala to get a better look at the ex-vessel.

Jimmy was still with a steady breathing pattern. It didn't look like he'd be waking up anytime soon. Dena couldn't help but wonder how much the demon had fucked up Jimmy internally.

He leaned against the door of his car, sighing, when he heard a groan. Dean's eyes went directly to Jimmy and found him stirring. "Jimmy?" Part of him couldn't help but smile a little at the sight. "Hey, you okay?" He helped the other man sit up, keeping a hand on his shoulder to keep him steady.

For a few moments, Jimmy didn't say anything. He just looked straight ahead and then at the interior of the car. When he finally did say something, it was paired with a sharp intake of breath. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"No. I just remember darkness and black when I was looking for you." His look immediately jumped to concern. "Are you okay? What'd the demon do to you?"

Dean shook his head as if to say 'don't worry about it'. "You were possessed. The demon just said a few things until Sam swooped in to save the day." The pull of the smirk on his face was only to cheer up Jimmy…and it worked. A weak smile climbed onto Jimmy's face and he gave a nod. "Just sit tight. We're leaving shortly."

"Okay." Jimmy shifted while Dean let go of his shoulder and made his way back into the motel. Sam would be glad to know Jimmy was awake again. Then they could get out of dodge before anyone else had something weird happen to them.


	9. Accepting Acceptance

**Title**: Accepting Acceptance  
**Prompt**: 278 - weeks  
**Character/Pairing**: Jimmy Novak/Dean Winchester.  
**Word Count**: 831  
**Rating**: T  
**Warnings**: Suicidal thoughts, fluff.

Two weeks after the incident with the demon and things were still the same…for the most part. Jimmy was getting into the habit of frequently ending up drunk after bar visits and Dean having taking care of him. Usually it wasn't bad. Dean could deal with it.

Seeing as how the incidents kept happening, Sam decided that he should just bunk with Dean at all the motels. And he didn't mind really. After all, he said he'd let Jimmy lean on him – both figuratively and literally. He wasn't about to yank that out from under him.

There were times when Jimmy would just curl up halfway in Dean's lap with the worst case of puppy eyes the older Winchester had ever seen. Sometimes it got bad though. It was rare, but at his worst and most inebriated state, Jimmy would ramble on about different things: how the angels didn't care, how Castiel was "a feather brained son of a bitch", or how he lost his faith in the world and life and everyone.

When he talked like that, Dean had to force him to stop. He could deal with the first two things, but the near suicidal path was where he drew the line.

Things were different though this particular day. They didn't have a hunt as far as he knew and Dean was determined to keep him away from alcohol, even if it was just for the day. The older hunter got up early and hit the shower before Jimmy could, and was immediately greeted from the shower by an eye rubbing ex-vessel. "Morning sunshine," Dean quipped.

Grumbling, Jimmy frowned and moved past Dean into the bathroom. He did his morning routine, which Dean timed to take almost fifteen minutes one morning he was waiting for the bathroom; and came out looking a lot better than the night before. "Now I'm awake enough to deal with you."

"That's a bit offensive, don't you think?" He wore a smirk as he glanced at Jimmy over the newspaper he grabbed in the fifteen minutes. There were two cups of coffee on the table in front of him, one practically screaming Jimmy's name.

He pretended to think for a moment before padding over and taking the cup he knew was his. "Maybe a little."

"More like a lot."

Jimmy shook his head and moved over to the couch, Dean could practically hear the eye roll that went with it. He put down the paper, watching as Jimmy put his coffee down on the floor by the leg of the couch and sat down with a defeated sigh. Sighs weren't good. They were usually the start of the chain of events that led to one of those really bad days.

And Dean swore today would be different.

"So, what do you wanna do today?" He asked, trying to catch his attention from whatever thought he was having. Dean got up and walked over, sitting next to him while keeping some space between them.

"Sam…didn't find anything?"

"Nope. That's why I was asking." A chuckle slipped out with his words. He figured the rookie would be used to it by now. Then again, it had only been a few weeks. "Well?"

For a few minute she was quiet, just thinking it seemed. The fact that he was just put Dean into minor shock. Jimmy would usually bark up about learning to do something and then they'd end up having a drink. Or in his case, three or four. "Think we can just…do nothing?"

His jaw almost fell open at the words. Dean really thought it was weird, but he wasn't about to say no to doing nothing. That was a rare commodity for him. "Yeah, no, that's fine."

"Good," Jimmy told him with a small smile before shifting and lying on his back, head resting slightly on Dean's jeaned thigh. He had a pleased look on his face for a change instead of a grumpy and irritated one. Dean liked it, simply happy for the difference. Of course, Jimmy was fully conscious and sober so he wasn't about to do anything stupid or girly like lean down and kiss him, as much as he kind of wanted to. And he didn't have to.

Because Jimmy was fiddling with the end of Dean's gray t-shirt and grinned up at him for a quick moment before saying, "Thanks."

"We've been through the thank you song and dance before."

"I know but I was never exactly with it."

Thankfully, Jimmy looked a bit guilty about that. "Don't worry. I get it. You've thanked me before and I accept it just the same."

"Even if they're…" He trailed off the moment Dean leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Okay. Acceptance accepted." Jimmy shifted again, making himself comfortable and shutting his eyes. Dean was just glad the guy was finally content and hoped he'd be that way for…as long as he'd be with him and his brother.

* * *

Just a note I forgot to include.

If you liked this fic, check my page and read the continuation called **Crossfire**. It picks up literally right after the last sentence of this story.


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